Worksheet Comments
I looked over the worksheets that everyone handed in on Tuesday.
Below I have made comments about points some of you either left blank,seemed
to misunderstand, or asked about in class. I hope that these comments
will help clarify what kind of information needs to be incorporated into
your Critical Analysis Paper (for which you completed this worksheet).
PLEASE USE THIS PAGE TO CLARIFY ISSUES YOU MIGHT HAVE HAD WHEN
COMPLETING THE WORKSHEET. IF YOU STILL HAVE QUESTIONS, DO NOT HESITATE
(OR WAIT) TO CONTACT ME.
The two biggest mistakes a person can make when writing this (or any) critical
analysis:
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Not using specific examples from your chosen text as evidence to illustrate
your claims.
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Not using, or citing, credible sources to support your claims.
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| THESIS - Should be more than a simple statement that the
media example illustrates your myth. You can use Galician's sample
(p. 228; p. 232) as a model of how to write a thesis that is specific to
the media example you chose. However, your thesis does not have to
be as specific to your example as Galician's sample seems to be.
You can think of your thesis as more general, for which your chosen media
example is an illustration. For a couple of examples of a "thesis"
that is more general, click here (or look at the
bottom of this web page). |
| Step 1 |
| Step 2 |
Step 3: DECONSTRUCTION
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EVIDENCE FOR LINKING MYTHS/STEREOTYPES; SPECIFIC EXAMPLES OF CONTENT (MESSAGE)
AND FORM (MEDIUM) THAT REPRESENT EMBEDDED VALUES - This is where you want
to point out how your myth (and related myths) are demonstrated by using
specific pieces of evidence from your media example. For the most
part, his is what you did (or will do) when presenting your media example
in class. Specific examples of "content" might include dialogue expressing
the myth in a movie, or images in a magazine that reinforce the myth (etc.).
Specific examples of "form" involve the use of narrative media techniques
(Galician Ch. 4, style, special effects, subtext, stereotypes, simplification,
etc.) to convey meaning that reinforces the myth.
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CITED COMMENTARY/RESEARCH - If you used any outside sources to find out
more about the media example you chose, mention it here. For example,
did you listen to director's commentary on a DVD? Did you read reviews
of a book (movie, etc.) on-line or in a database? This is ALSO where
you would cite any other research used, such as information from Galician's
textbook about myths (Ch. 2, chapter for your myth) and media narrative
techniques (Ch. 4), class lectures about stereotypes, or your annotated
bibliography sources.
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Step 4: DIAGNOSIS
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MEANINGS AND POSSIBLE INTERPRETATIONS - Need to describe BOTH preferred
and oppositional readings here. Remember that opppositional readings
will explain, using evidence from your media example, how the preferred
reading is generally harmful. Use narrative media techniques (Galician
Ch. 4) to explain why people will be influenced to interpret your media
example in a specific way (i.e., to have preferred reading of text).
It may be important to mention mass media theories (Galician Ch. 5 and
class lecture) to explain why different people will interpret the messages
in your media example differently (i.e., why would some people have an
oppositional reading of the text, while most would have preferred reading).
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Preferred and oppositional refers to the ways a person can "read" media
"texts," as described on pp. 105-106. Please look over that section.
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Essentially, the preferred interpretation is what the media wants you to
take away from their message (I should buy these clothes because they will
make me irresistible/sexy). The oppositional reading looks at the
negative, underlying meaning a critical reader might see (the clothing
manufacturer is trying to get me to buy their overpriced product by making
me feel insecure that no one will be attracted to me if I don't wear their
slutty outfits).
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COMPARISON WITH RATIONAL MODELS - Compare your chosen media portrayal to
models for healthy relationships (discussed in textbook, Ch. 3, in class
lecture, and in sources you found for your annotated bibliography);
which models or other relational communication theories best relate to
your particular media example?
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Rational models are the focus of Ch3 -- "rational" is used to mean realistic
and does relate to the prescription, or any healthier alternative that
you might have discovered in your research.
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POSSIBLE EFFECTS - Be sure to consider all three kinds of effects possible--cognitive
(change thinking, opinion), affective (influence emotions), and behavioral
(persuaded to engage in some action)
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EXPERT CITATIONS - Make sure to cite any research used to support your
claims for this section. This includes citing (as they are applicable)
Galician, class lectures, and sources from your annotated bibliography.
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[GENERAL COMMENT] - When trying to relate Galician's
steps to her worksheet, don't get caught up in trying to make one match
the other exactly. Answer her questions as she poses them in Ch6,
and you will have the foundation for a pretty good critical analysis.
If you look at Step 4 on the worksheet, for example, all Galician is really
asking is for you to tell us what messages your media example is sending
to audiences, and if and how those messages might be harmful, using research
citations to back up your claims. I'll try to tie Step 4 in Ch 6
and Step 4 on the worksheet together.
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You should notice that the different parts Galician
break outs basically ask you to describe what message the media example
is sending [preferred interp] and what other kinds of (usually more negative)
messages could be perceived [oppositional interp].
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Mass media theories might explain how different people
would be effected differently by the media example, resulting in some only
absorbing the preferred message while others might see the "other," oppositional
messages.
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Since the preferred message meaning typically reflects
one of the media myths (or other negative meaning) it will probably not
compare favorably with the rational models, reflecting perhaps only a part
of "good" model for relationships [comparison with rational models].
Is there anything good, or "rational" about the media example? What
is missing/distorted/misleading that makes it a "bad" model for relationships?
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If the media example is not a good model for relationships,
it will have some potentially harmful aspects [possible effects], perhaps
causing people to change their behavior (e.g. buy something), change their
thinking (e.g., believe that men should be in charge in a relationship),
and/or change their emotions (e.g. become depressed because you'll never
be thin enough).
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You should back up your claims with research [expert
citations] which might include explanations of how mass media theories
would explain how audiences might process the messages --Come to a conclusion
[judgment/evaluation] about the media example (e.g. this message is harmful).
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Step 5: DESIGN
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RELATED THEORIES AND RATIONAL MODELS - if you were going to recreate your
media example to represent a healthier approach to relationships, what
research would you use to base your new creation? Start with Galician's
prescription for your myth, but also consider using rational models discussed
in Ch. 3, relational communication theories discussed in class lecture,
and other sources your found for your annotated bibliography.
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Step 5, "related theories and rational models," is where you identify any
research related to the healthier alternatives that you could incorporate
into your reconstruction.
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LIKELIHOOD OF USE - I know that Galician's example on p. 229 says "slim
to none" (which is what most of you also stated in your worksheets), but
you should consider and discuss WHY your alternative reconstruction is
unlikely to used in the media.
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EXISTING RECONSTRUCTION - If you recall ever seeing a media example
in real life that promotes a healthier alternative to your myth than
what is portrayed in your current example, list/describe it here.
This is NOT where you would describe an alternative reconstruction of the
current example that you have developed. If you can't think of any
existing reconstructions, that is okay.
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| Step 6 |
Step 7: DISSEMINATION
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ADVOCACY ACTION PLAN - don't forget to look over the "resistive tactics"
discussed in class (also listed in Ch. 6 footnote on p. 110) to help you
figure out the large variety of ways you could take action
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TIMETABLE OF SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES (PERSONAL/PUBLIC/PROFESSIONAL) - "Personal"
refers to how your life will be changed by new understanding resulting
from your analysis of your media example; "Public" refers to how you will
share what you have learned with others, including friends, family, classmates,
in other classes, etc.; "Professional" is likely not to apply to many of
you, but for those of you who might be thinking about careers in media
or other professions where media would be utilized, how will you use your
new knowledge to promote healthier messages about relationships? (Please
be realistic--I understand that most of you will not teach a course about
media myths, or present your research at a conference)
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